Professional women’s soccer is coming to Central Kentucky. Meet the team’s head coach.
Lexington Sporting Club is on the verge of a groundbreaking 2024. And now, an important piece of the franchise’s big plans for the year has been announced.
Michael Dickey has been named the first head coach of LSC’s professional women’s soccer team, which will begin play later this year.
Dickey will be the head coach for LSC’s team in the USL Super League, a new professional women’s soccer league that intends to compete within the first division of American women’s pro soccer and will start play in August.
“I want to thank (LSC majority owner) Bill Shively, (LSC ownership member) Stephen Dawahare and (LSC women’s sporting director) Michelle Rayner for providing me with this opportunity to come to Lexington and be a part of such an amazing program,” Dickey said in an LSC news release.
“Being a part of the inaugural season with the USL Super League is such a unique opportunity, and I am excited to be a part of a new piece of history and opportunity for women’s sports.”
Dickey’s past credentials in women’s soccer are significant. He was formerly the head coach for the Jordan women’s national team, and also enjoyed success in international soccer as the head coach of the United States Under-17 women’s youth national team.
Additionally, Dickey spent time in a coaching capacity with the Under-15 and Under-16 United States women’s youth national teams.
Prior to his hiring by LSC, Dickey’s most recent stop was right here in the commonwealth. He served as the director of coaching and player development at Mockingbird Valley Premier Soccer Club in Louisville.
Lexington Sporting Club to field team in USL Super League
LSC is currently building its own, soccer-specific stadium off Athens Boonesboro Road, near Interstate 75 in Lexington. The club already has training fields at that location.
The new stadium is planned to be completed in time for the club’s first season in the USL Super League, which begins play in August.
“I think the stadium itself is crucial for long-term success for our club,” Rayner told the Herald-Leader in October. “I think people will see and recognize ... just the value that this is going to bring to Lexington, and that the ownership is 100% behind everything that we’re doing, both for the girls and the boys at our club.”
The USL Super League season will run from August to June 2025.
Last year, Lexington Sporting Club fielded a team in the USL W League, a pre-professional women’s soccer league.
In addition to Lexington, the USL Super League will feature the following initial markets for its 2024 debut season: Charlotte, Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix, Spokane (Washington), Tampa, Tucson (Arizona) and Washington D.C.
Teams from the following markets will join the USL Super League in future seasons, pending completion of their own stadium projects: Chattanooga (Tennessee), Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Madison (Wisconsin) and Oakland (California).
Season ticket information for LSC’s team in the USL Super League can be found at lexsporting.com/super-league-season-tickets.
